Unforeseen
by silver drip
Summary: Locked away in Asgard's dungeons Loki thought he was safe from Thanos. What he didn't realize was that it wasn't Thanos' revenge he should be worried about, but a certain mortal's.


**Locked away in Asgard's dungeons Loki thought he was safe from Thanos. What he didn't realize was that it wasn't Thanos' revenge he should be worried about, but a certain mortal's.**

Save the broken spine Loki's 'invasion' had gone according to plan. The muzzle does not bother him. He does not need words to finish this last step. The chains are a necessity though. He must look beaten, like this is his loss rather than his victory.

When the Avengers gather round him for his departure he puts on a mask of deep pain and insanity. He could see how disappointed Thor was, how blind he was to Loki's true intentions.

Loki glanced around, pretending to give the mortals one last glare, if only to mentally laugh at the pride and anger they were all forecasting, unaware that this was all part of his plan.

It was only later, when he was taken to his all white cell that he realized that one of the Avengers had not been in attendance.

* * *

He couldn't keep the smug look off his face, and knew it only served to infuriate Odin further. He would not beg. He would not plead for forgiveness. Because this was still part of the plan. When Thanos came after Loki, because he would come, there'd be the whole of Asgard to get through, and Asgard was truly impenetrable. As a matter of pride Odin would not allow the Mad Titan to take one of his prisoners, even if it meant Asgard was put in danger.

So he stayed silent during his trail, a grin in place to let all those believe he was as deranged and best locked away, the shame of Odin and all of Asgard, hidden away in the bowels of her castle.

How naive they were, unaware that they would eventually be his shield, a torrent of warriors to protect Asgard, and vicariously protect him.

How many of those who scorned his brief rein would die because of Thanos raged? How many tales of brave warriors would come about as Loki sat comfortably in the safety of the castle? How righteous would their anger be when they realized Loki slipped away from their clutches once he knew the Mad Titan was no longer a threat? Would they sputter angrily as they realized they were just another tool that Loki had readily utilized to his own end? Or would they merely be happy to have finally gotten rid of him?

Yes, it was all very pleasing to think about as Odin played his part as judge and jury. Luckily Loki knew there would be no execution, not when Frigga had Odin's ear.

* * *

His mother's presence truly was the only part of his plan that he dreaded. Especially now that they were alone and he had no audience to play to.

"I will have the truth from you." Frigga said sternly, her back ramrod straight as she wore a countenance of true regality. Loki glanced at her from his seat, trying to read her expression.

"The truth of my invasion has been spoken. The fact that it was not done by me does not diminish the legitimacy of it. Listen to your golden son, though he is as foolhardy as ever." His words were spoken harshly, yet he could not meet her eyes, not when her love meant so much to him.

"You are mistaken. Your attack upon Midgard is of no concern to me. Odin did just the same to Jotunheim, though with markedly different results." She paused, examining her son's expression. "Is it unheard of for a mother to ask after her child's wellbeing-"

"It is as unheard of as a mother to lie to her son his whole life."

"Loki," Frigga said in a warning tone, yet the prince could not muster up the anger that should have been invoked at the thought of her betrayal. "I must know the truth of why you let go. I won't allow you to try and kill yourself again. I could not bear losing you twice, especially if it was at your own hands again."

"You do not have the right to ask me of such things, of such truths- You, who lied so effortlessly for so long. You, who led me to believe I too could be a king. You, who told me tales of how I used to kick you so hard while in you womb as if I was already the warrior you wished me to be. You are the one I trusted above all others, yet you betrayed me every day, every moment. Every comforting word you spoke to me was to an end and that end was not as a means of showing your love. You have no right to know my truths any longer." Loki's voice had started at strong, but with each sentence, with each word his throat tightened and his deep feeling of betrayal and self hatred brought tears to his eyes.

"I ask for the truth of the matter. I have earned that right as the woman who held your swaddled form and accepted you as my own, as the one who loved you just the same, as the one who would not allow her husband to use you as a diplomatic tool. I earned your truth because I love you so much I made up wishful stories where you formed and grew in my womb, so that we were together if only for nine months longer. Yes, I betrayed you, but it was not from lack of love, but an abundance of it. While you were still yet a toddler I told you those tales because I wished they were true for I only wanted to be closer to you so that you would feel that sense of being home that can only be forged by growing in your mother's womb. You were so young and my love for you and Thor was equal and overwhelming.

"I was so scared though, Loki." The god of mischief looked up at his mother, no longer able to hide his tears, his pain. "I feared that if you knew that you grew inside another woman's womb that you would not love me as strongly, that you would not love me as I love you."She carefully wrapped her arms around him and he fell into her embrace. "Never think I lied to you because I did not love you. I lied because I could not stand the thought of losing you." She kissed him on the crown of his head and he buried his face in the crook of her neck, no longer able to hold in his sobs, his pain.

Frigga crooned comforting words to him, holding her trembling son. Loki clutched onto her desperately unable to control himself. He thought to himself that maybe one day, when the pain of betrayal and torture was not fresh in his mind, that he'd tell her the truth and tell her how much he still loved her.

* * *

Odin had forbidden Frigga from visiting again once he caught word of it. This was not entirely unexpected to Loki, nor was it exactly seen as a bad thing by him. He did not wish to see her again, not till he was strong and free once more.

His isolation deepens as Thor's visits become scarcer as the months drag on. He was annoyed to find how much he missed the blubbering fool. How, despite having suffered in his shadow for countless years, he still loves him.

Sentiment, it was one of the things Loki feared he'd never escape. Fortunately that curse was dull when not faced with the one the emotion was directed at.

So Loki sat and waited as Thanos' forces surely drew closer. He thought about what he'd do after Thanos was dead, perhaps visit Midgard again and correct their assumption that they had won.

The stray thought about the Avengers gives Loki pause. He had a strange, bitter taste in his mouth at the thought of the mortals, though he did not know why. That part of his plan was completed, their usefulness ran dry. Even still, his mind seemed to focus on the armored mortal, the one who had been so cocky and sure of himself. He had briefly seen the mortal after the battle, but he had been on his phone and hadn't bothered to gloat as Loki lay in the crater. He had expected for him to come to the two gods' departure, yet was absent for unknown reasons.

Loki hated when his predictions were incorrect.

After pondering the miscalculation once more Loki went back to perfecting the spell that would allow him to escape his cell once Thanos was disposed of.

* * *

It was nearly a year to the day of his capture on Midgard that Loki saw the guards run off, word of an attack reaching them.

Loki sat on his bed, grinning already at the victory to come.

But then something strange happened, something unexpected. There was a high pitched keening noise, so loud that it caused the god to cover his ears. It kept building up, louder and louder until even Loki couldn't hear his own thoughts and he curled up. Then there was a hollow silence only broken by the god's harsh breathing. When he finally could stand up straight again there was the noise of a single drop of water falling into an empty bucket that reverberated throughout all of Asgard. The god was hit with an overwhelming nausea that brought him to his hands and knees. He struggled to keep his last meal down, but his stomach convulsed and acid burned his throat as he vomited on the ground.

His arms shook and his head hurt, and everything just felt _wrong_. He had to escape now. Loki crawled into the teleportation circle he had drawn many months ago. He spoke the words of activation, yet he remained in the blindingly white room. He tried again, but his magic did not flare to life.

Loki tried to cast an illusion, making it look like the cell was vacant, but it only made his nausea worse.

Far off in the distance there was the sound of explosions that made the floor rumble. He pulled himself up against the glass wall and was surprised when it didn't zap him. He spread his fingers trying to sense the power in the wall, but found none. He grinned victoriously, pulling his arm back before hitting the glass as hard as he could.

He grimaced at the pain of the impact, but was otherwise unharmed, likewise the glass remained unharmed. He scowled and threw another punch. That should have worked. Loki had already analyzed the composition of the glass and knew the only thing that gave it strength was the force field that was now gone.

Far above he heard the clashing of battles, making him freeze.

Impossible, wholly impossible. Asgard was impenetrable. Her forces unmatched in her strength and abilities. The invaders should not have been able to breach her.

Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong.

Loki grabbed his chair and slammed it against the unyielding glass. This wasn't right. Thanos' forces were supposed to be rebuked far outside of the castle walls and this damn wall wasn't supposed to be this strong.

He let out a frustrated growl before falling back to his knees. His whole body was shaking for some reason, as if he had overexerted himself.

He had to think, had to focus and not let panic cloud his better senses- arrange the facts: Sharp noise that dropped off, buckling knees and nausea, he couldn't activate his teleportation circle, no force field, he couldn't create illusions, and glass that was stronger than it was supposed to be.

Or maybe the glass wasn't stronger, maybe Loki was just weaker.

He tested out his theory, only barely having enough strength to tear a book in half. So he was weaker, much weaker than he'd ever been before. It was another unexpected outcome and Loki could feel the panic welling up again.

He knew what Thanos and the Other had a plan for him, and it was far from pleasant.

Loki called forth all his magic, yet what little he had left did not obey. He could barely create a spark, let alone escape a cell. He surveyed his surroundings despite already knowing them perfectly due to his prolonged captivity. He broke a leg off the bed to where he had whittled away at its structural integrity some months back in case of a situation just like this. It broke at a fine point, creating the perfect makeshift knife, just small enough to hide in his palm.

Loki righted his chair, placing it against the far wall and waiting for what may come.

Slowly the noise built up, at first indecipherable clattering to the distinct clashing of metal and quick explosions. His shoulders grew tense as each moment slipped by. His grip on the makeshift weapon grew tighter. Adrenalin sharpened his eyesight despite there being nothing to see outside of his cell.

There was a hollow sounding crash and Loki recognized the pained shouting of one of the guards. Heavy metallic footsteps, a crowd of them all heading in Loki's direction. He put on an air of confidence and an eager smile.

His first glimpse of the assailants left Loki confused. This was not the Chitauri foot soldiers he was expecting. These lumbering giants were made of metal and seemed to glow with a magic Loki didn't recognize.

"Who is your master?" Loki asked, but the metal men turned their back to him, flanking the window of a wall. More metal men streamed in to the dungeon and the sharp sound of glass breaking followed by the screams of other prisoners. One of the metal men punched through the cell opposite Loki's before shooting a prisoner with a beam of energy. Loki pressed himself against the glass and saw the process repeated in the two other cells he could see.

So they were here for him, spectacular.

Loki knew all the weaknesses of the Chitauri, but not these beings. He examined them closely, but saw no chinks in the continuous armor, all in black, featureless. He could see strange blue magic similar to the Tesseract's yet different hovering on them. They were completely motionless, possibly inorganic, hollow armor. Possibly remotely controlled from one location or person.

He couldn't tell how they were receiving their orders or if they were programmed ahead of time.

No obvious weaknesses and they tended to move in sync.

Regardless, there was nothing he could do trapped in this damn cell.

So he sat back down and waited even opening a book and flipping through it in a show of aplomb.

The noise outside of the dungeon slowly faded and the metal man did not move. That was… a very, very bad sign.

Night slid over Asgard. It had been hours since the fighting stopped. The blood on the ground in the opposite cell had dried out into a brown smear. Hunger was starting to gnaw at Loki, but he kept his mind occupied.

This was just another setback. The invaders would either have to come in here or he'd have to go out there in order for them to accomplish their goal. Change presented opportunity. Loki capitalized on opportunity.

Yet he had not been this disadvantaged since Thanos first captured him. That was a worrisome thought.

Loki tried to stay awake, but as the night dragged on he could feel the constant alertness ware at him, and the book he had read countless times in his hand was not helping the situation.

A loud clang startled him out of his haze. Both of the metal men guarding his cell turned around at once, punching through the glass. As they tore it down Loki surged forward, wielding his makeshift knife expertly. He went for the one on the left first, but before his jab could connect the metal armor caught Loki by his wrist, twisting it around. The other invader grabbed onto Loki's upper arm, almost snapping Loki's arm with the force of his hold.

Loki let out a slur of curses as he tried to teleport away. His magic failed him and a bolt of energy shot through him, making him scream then go limp. He was dragged through the dungeon, cell after cell filled with dead prisoners.

The stairs bumped against his knees and his head lolled forward, a low pulse of electricity constantly hitting him from one of the metal men. The scent of blood was thick in the air the closer he was dragged to the throne room. He looked at every sprawled, dead body. Most of them had weapons drawn, yet many of the servants looked like they were shot while fleeing.

Waves of nausea hit Loki as he spotted Sif, her chest blown open. They'd been on so many quests together. He had saved her life so many times, and now she was dead. It didn't make any sense to Loki.

None of this made any sense. Asgard is impenetrable, her warriors are undefeated. These were not Thanos' soldiers, these metal men, so much like-

The throne room's doors opened wide and Loki's heart stopped.

The mortal.

He was sitting in the throne, his once red and gold armor now black and red, blue energy oozing off him. On his leg rested a black helmet that he was tapping his fingers against idly.

Loki was pushed down to his knees and two more metal men surrounded him.

"Mhm, this mead is good." Tony Stark said while taking a sip from the goblet reserved only for Odin's use. "It's strong too. I could make a fortune off this stuff back on earth, not that I need any more money."

"You-" Before he could finish a muzzle was locked over his mouth.

"Jarvis, keep collecting the bodies and bring them in here. I want to see them all." Tony said before tossing the empty goblet towards a pile of corpses.

"My pleasure, Sir." All of the metal beings said at once. Loki struggled against the two that were holding him down. One quickly twisted his arm, dislocated his shoulder. He let out a muffled grunt.

"This place is pretty shiny, kinda hurts my eye." As if to prove his point the engineer rubbed his eyes. Loki shouted at him, wanting to know why he was here, but no words escaped. "Calm down, Bambi. I don't want to have to knock you out." Loki struggled harder and was rewarded with a blow to the back of his head. One of the metal men grabbed him by the back of his neck forcing him to stare at the blood stained ground.

From his peripheral he saw the piles of bodies growing larger, the sound of armor and cold flesh hitting the golden ground. Faces he knew, people that had been with him since childhood. The woman who used to dress him when he was too young to do it himself. The tutor that Loki and Thor always used to play tricks on. The elderly woman who made sure the royal library was always in order. Loki completely froze when he saw the Theia, Frigga's personal attendant.

Frigga… Loki thrashed in his captor's hold. He had to save her. He had to be sure she was alright.

Tony laughed loudly and the noise echoed against the blood splattered walls.

"Who you looking for?" Tony teased, leaning forward on the throne. "You know, before Thor fell- Did I mention he's dead? Well he's dead. He put up a decent fight. Too bad I already knew all his abilities and he was very forward about all things having to do with Asgard and its paltry defenses." Loki shouted again, but Tony's laugh drowned him out. "Anyway, back to the point he stuck Mjolnir against a door in the royal wing, keeping it firmly closed, but don't worry I've got Jarvis working away at making a new door. Should only be a matter of time now…" Tony hummed happily and Loki's eye widened.

"Progress 67%, estimated time of completion ten minutes." One of the armored beings beside Tony said.

"Ten minutes, now what should we do with ten minutes?" Tony looked at his metal covered hand, his grin growing. "All the possibilities that are contained in ten minutes. What to do, what to do, with ten minutes? I could have Jarvis break your legs, scalp you, pull out your guts, force you to drink the blood of your fallen comrades. So many possibilities." Tony stroked his goatee in thought. "No, I think we'll wait, let you stew as we wait for our guest of honor."

Tony pulled out a small device and started scrolling through it, chuckling randomly. Loki shouted again as even more bodies were dragged in from all over the kingdom. Tony ignored him.

"Sir, the target has been acquired."

"Super, start phase six." Tony turned off his cell phone and sat up perfectly straight, a look of glee on his face.

"Let go of me!" An all too familiar voice commanded. Loki's heart stopped.

"Oh, I wish we had a drum roll. A drum roll would be perfect." A quick paced pattering began. "Jarvis, you are a godsend."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Do you know who I am?!"

"It's like music to the ears, isn't it?" Tony waved his hand like a conductor. Loki tried screaming insults, but the quick pattering grew louder before abruptly stopping. "Ah, and here is our guest of honor. The one and only, Queen Frigga!" Tony clapped and the armored beings flanking him started clapping with him. Loki twisted in the grip of his captors and spotted his mother.

"Loki!" Frigga shouted, struggling to break free. "You must run! They killed Odin! Let go of my son!"

"Oh calm down. He's not really your son."

"You swill! You shall release us!"

"Jarvis, please tell me we brought more than one muzzle."

"Sorry, Sir. Shall I pull out her tongue and break her jaw? That should alleviate the problem somewhat."

"Naw, the show's almost over. No need to make things messier than they already are. Just cover up her pretty little face." One of the metal men gripped Frigga by her hair before covering her mouth. "Anywho, where were we?"

"The main event." Jarvis filled in.

"Right, the main event." Tony's expression turned serious suddenly and Loki's feeling of dread deepened. "I suppose a bit of background info is necessary for me to fully enjoy this moment." Tony took in a deep breath. "I love myself, I really do, but there is- was one person who I loved more than myself. She was it for me. The light of my life and all that." He smiled genuinely before it seemed to crumble. "But then you had to throw your little temper tantrum and caused everything to go to hell. She was in New York when you led your army there. She didn't stand a chance." Tony's voice faded and his dark eyes became distant.

"Sir," The armored being said softly, touching Tony on his shoulder. The mortal nodded in thanks before turning his attention back to Loki.

"She died violently, because of you, crushed under a beam. She was the only one I truly loved besides myself and you killed her. I decided then that I'd kill you in the most painful way imaginable. Of course the whole plan had a few road bumps such as how the hell I could get to this realm and how to fight against magic, but hey, where there's a will there's a way- and I clearly found that way." Tony gestured around the room. Metal soldiers were still carrying bodies, lining the walls with them. Originally I was just going to sneak in here and make it look like you had escaped before I pulled you apart piece by piece, but then one night I was drinking with Thor, squeezing every drop of information out of him when he mentioned how much of a momma's boy you are."

Tony's grin turned malicious. He stood up from the throne before slowly walking over to Loki. His brown eyes flicked to Frigga. Loki pulled against his captors with all his might, screaming obscenities and threats, but he couldn't break away. His green eyes were wide and he looked like a wild animal.

"Would you like a knife, Sir?" Jarvis offered, one of the armors picked up a dagger from among the corpses.

"No, I see a better weapon." Tony reached forward and grabbed the makeshift knife Loki was still carrying. The god tried his damnedest to hold onto it, but his weakened strength was pathetic compared to Iron Man's. "Bring her here. I want him to be able to feel her last breath escape her body." Frigga was dragged over and made to kneel, facing Loki, all the while fighting against those that held her.

Poison green eyes met soft blue ones. There were tears in her eyes that spoke of promises of love and forgiveness. Loki wanted to scream, he wanted to break away and save the only person who truly accepted him. He wanted to hold her and tell her he was sorry, that he never meant for any of this to happen. Most of all he wanted to tell her the truth, to whisper the words of love he'd denied her on their last encounter-

The knife sliced across her elegant neck and Loki was blinded by the spray of blood.

Loki screamed till his lungs wrung themselves dry. He struggled against the unyielding hold on him and caused his other shoulder to pop out of place and both his arms to break in multiple spots- all to get just an inch closer to her, to hold her one last time.

All he could see was Frigga and her lifeless eyes as the metal soldiers released her, her dead body falling heavily to the ground.

"J, are there any prison cells left intact?" Tony asked, ignoring the god that was breaking down at his feet.

"There are thirteen cells currently undamaged and unoccupied."

"Good." The mortal leaned forward and grabbed Loki by his chin. The god tried to jerk away, but couldn't. "That's exactly how I felt when I realized Pepper was dead." He chuckled hollowly and patted Loki on his cheek as if they were old friends. "Don't worry. The fun's not over yet. Death is not an escape I will allow you, not when life can be so much worse." Tony took a step back, purposefully smashing Frigga's hand under his metal boot. Loki let out another shout of horror and indignation. "J, pick up this mess." He gestured towards Loki who was immediately hefted up between the two metal beings. Tony eyed the god a moment longer. "I want you to take him to the most secure cell, remove his muzzle and clothes before tossing him in there. No one is to go near his cell. He is to be completely isolated."

"Very well, Sir." Jarvis said, but did not move Loki. The mortal was still deep in thought.

Tony touched his goatee, smearing blood on it. The god was still panting, staring at his dead mother as his mind unraveled.

"Loki," crazed green eyes met steely brown ones, "I want you to remember that this is entirely your own fault. That I would have never considered hurting an innocent person, let alone committing mass genocide if not for what you did, for what you took from me. If only you had not been so selfish, none of this would have happened. You'd be sitting pretty with mommy dearest while I would still be back on earth, with the woman I love- But no, you decided that you had no problem with attacking my home and killing Pepper. This is your punishment. You will be locked away, all alone with that knowledge for the rest of your very long life. You will be left with the guilt of having caused this whole realm to be slaughtered and with the knowledge that your own mother died because of you. Long after I am dead Jarvis will be here guarding your cell for all eternity and periodically replaying the recordings of the carnage for you, just in case you forget." Tony waved dismissively.

The god slumped forward, unable to hold himself up any longer. He couldn't believe this was reality. This was all too much-

This just couldn't be real-

Frigga can't be dead. Asgard would never fall, especially not to a mortal.

This had to be some sort of dream. A nightmare as he waits for Thanos' forces to come after him-

"Oh, Jarvis, I just had a splendid idea." The mortal said, pulling Loki from his desperate thoughts, if only momentarily. "Take momma Frigga with you. I wouldn't want Loki to get lonely in his cell."

Loki's eyes widened more than ever before as he tried to process what the mortal had just said. Tony just smiled devilishly as Frigga was lifted by her arm and was dragged behind one of the metal men as they made their way back to the dungeon.

A malicious laugh carried through the halls, digging its way into Loki's head as he was taken to a cell and imprisoned with his mother's body, never to see the light of day again.


End file.
